Nuclear Energy

The energy released by nuclear fission is primarily in the form of gamma rays, which are high-energy electromagnetic radiation. These gamma rays are emitted as a result of the conversion of mass into energy during the fission process.

Critical is that point when the population of fission events is neither growing nor decreasing, and that it is sustained by its own means. In this state, on a large scale statistical basis, exactly one neutron produces one fission, which goes one to produce one neutron, which goes on to produce one fission, and so on and so forth. Subcritical is the state where that population is decreasing, and supercritical is where that population is increasing.

Criticality is also related to power output, as the number of fission events is directly tied to energy or power output. When you ramp a nuclear reactor up in power, you go slightly supercritical while you increase the population, and therefore the energy output, but once you achieve your target power, you let your moderator step in and modulate the power in a self-modulating cycle. Similarly, as you trim power down, you go slightly subcritical while you decrease the population, and then you let the moderator kick back in, that is, unless you lose control and you initiate a trip/scram, taking the reactor to shutdown, which is way-way-subcritical.

The total energy and mass-energy equivalent in the universe remains constant. This principle is known as the conservation of energy and mass-energy equivalence, as stated by the law of conservation of energy in physics.

You attain stability in nuclear fission by exactly balancing the number of fission events with the number of neutrons that go on to produce fission events. This is done by using a moderator that responds to temperature in such a way as to self regulate the reaction.

In a typical light water moderated reactor, the density of the water affects how it moderates the neutrons. As temperature goes up, density goes down, which decreases moderation, which slow the reaction. Density is actually a process of the number of voids in the water, voids where there is no water, i.e. no moderation. Even though pressure increases in this case, the void density decreases, making this a self regulating response.

If the turbine, for instance, were to suddenly demand more steam, the reactor coolant would drop in temperature, decreasing the number of voids, and increasing reactivity, which would bring the reactor up in power to match the load change.

If, on the other hand, a depressurization event were to occur, ignoring, for now, the control rods, the coolant would flash to steam, and the voids would essentially drastically increase. Moderation would plummet, reactivity would go negative, and the reactor would go sub critical, shutting down the reactor, essentially, in the blink of an eye.

Back to the control rods. They provide a gross reactivity control, and are used to startup, shutdown, and trim the reactor for changing conditions. They also respond in abnormal conditions, providing emergency shutdown when needed, but that was not really the question.

Humans landed on the moon for the first time on July 20, 1969, during the US NASA Apollo 11 mission commanded by Neil Armstrong. Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin was the pilot of the Lunar Module, and Michael Collins was the pilot of the Command Module, which stayed in lunar orbit.

Breeder nuclear fission produces more fissile material than it consumes, while conventional nuclear fission produces energy without producing additional fuel. Breeder reactors can create more fuel (like plutonium) for use in other reactors, making them potentially more efficient in terms of fuel usage.

Sunlight contains a few different beams on the electromagnetic spectrum. The most noticeable is visible light. Since the light is white, it contains all of the colors on the visible light spectrum (from red to violet, 700nm-400nm). There is also ultraviolet rays (400 nm to 10 nm) which is invisible to the human eye but in certain doses will cause skin cancer. Since the sun emits heat that warms the earth, sunlight also emits infrared radiation (750 nm to 1 mm).

there will be decrease in global warming which will definetly stop the conditions which may prevent third world war as suggested by scitinsts of environmental chemistry demerits nuclear is a costly affair ,it may result various harmful radiations which may pose a threat to environment

We derive electromagnetic energy from the nuclear fusion reactions on the sun. We also apply nuclear energy (fission) on earth to generate lots of thermal energy, which we use in a steam cycle to generate lots of electric power.

Helium-4, because it has a higher binding energy per nucleon compared to the initial nuclei involved in the fusion reaction. This means that the products of the fusion reaction have a higher binding energy per nucleon and are more stable, resulting in the release of energy.

Yes. Nuclear thermal rockets heat a gas to superhot temperatures and use it for thrust. Tested on the ground, but never launched. Nuclear ion engines make electricity from a nuclear reactor, then use it to accelerate ions for thrust. Tested on the ground. Ion engines powered by solar cells and nuclear reactors for electrical power have both been tested in space, although never together. Theoretically, it is possible to use nuclear weapons detonated behind a ship to push it, but no one has gone beyond theory with the concept because of the cost and political ramifications. As for fusion, several theories exist, but none have yet been demonstrated to work.

Nuclear energy can potentially have negative impacts on the ecosystem through accidental releases of radioactive materials into the environment, which can harm wildlife, contaminate water sources, and damage ecosystems. However, nuclear energy can also have positive effects by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution compared to fossil fuels, which can benefit ecosystems by mitigating the impacts of climate change.

A typical uranium fission event produces 2 to 3 neutrons. These neutrons are moderated (slowed down) and go on to initiate the fission of more uranium. On average, in a controlled reaction that is maintained at normal criticality (KEffective = 1), each fission creates exactly one neutron that is used to produce another fission.

The CIRUS reactor in India is commonly used for studies involving uranium heavy water lattices. This reactor was used for research purposes before being permanently shut down in 2010.

Weather patterns are generally not associated with nuclear reactions. Nuclear reactions involve processes that occur at the atomic nucleus level, often related to the release of energy through fission or fusion, whereas weather patterns are the result of complex interactions in Earth's atmosphere and are driven by factors such as temperature, pressure, and humidity.

The products of nuclear fission are typically two or more smaller nuclei, along with the release of energy in the form of gamma radiation and kinetic energy of the fission fragments. Fission of a heavy nucleus can also produce neutrons, which can go on to induce further fission reactions in a chain reaction.

Fukushima Daiichi (the worse accident) is located at 37° 25' 22.7" N 141° 01' 58.5" E.

Fukushima Daini (the lesser accident) is located at 37° 18' 59" N 141° 01' 52" E.

Applications of uranium:

- nuclear fuel for nuclear power reactors

- explosive for nuclear weapons

- material for armors and projectiles

- catalyst

- additive for glasses and ceramics (to obtain beautiful green colors)

- toner in photography

- mordant for textiles

- shielding material (depleted uranium)

- ballast

- and other minor applications

The primary issue is one of containment.

In order to initiate a nuclear fusion reaction, you need to strip away the electron shells of the atoms, and you need to move the nuclei close enough together for the attractive strong interaction to overcome the repulsive electromagnetic interaction. Stripping away the electron shells, i.e. creating a plasma, requires ultra high temperatures. Moving the nuclei close enough together requires ultra high pressures.

Problem: We have nothing that can maintain and/or contain this temperature and pressure. No currently known material can do this. The stars do it easily, because of gravity, but a reactor large enough to take advantage of gravity would be much larger than the Earth. Not even Jupiter is large enough, though some say it is close.

So, we are left with alternative forms of containment.

One possibility is magnetic containment. Problem is, in order to do that, we need superconducting magnets, so we are faced with having ultra cold components in close proximity to ultra hot components. That, to say the least, is technologically difficult. Presently, the ITER, a tokamak design, is being constructed in Cadarache, France to attempt this. Timeline is set for first testing in 2019, with first fusion in 2026. Note, however, that we are only talking 500 MW of power, and then, only for 480 seconds. All this at a projected cost of 15 billion euros.

Another possibility is inertial containment. This is how the hydrogen bomb works, but that is an uncontrolled, destructive reaction. The NIF, a laser implosion device, has been constructed in Livermore, California (USA). It generates 4MJ pulses that can theoretically induce 45MJ fusion pulses. Problem is, that it takes 422MJ to charge the system's capacitors, so the total energy curve is backwards, and the system heats up so much that cooldown is required after each firing - they are attempting to be able to do 5 firings a day - hardly any kind of continuous output. As a result, this is only an experimental facility, though so is the ITER, described above.

Best guess - we will not achieve controlled fusion power for at least 100 years. Even the projected goals for the next 50 years do not include any kind of sustainable reaction, let alone any kind of commercial deployment.

An underground nuclear blast is referred to as an underground nuclear test. It involves detonating a nuclear weapon below the surface of the Earth, effectively containing the explosion underground. This type of blast generates seismic waves that can be detected and analyzed for various purposes, including testing nuclear weapons technology.

Mainly Plutonium fuel.

They are usually started on highly enriched uranium (i.e., weapons grade) fuel, with a breeding blanket of depleted uranium surrounding the core. Over time the breeding blanket is periodically changed and the old one reprocessed to extract plutonium; which is used to make replacement fuel for the reactor (and sometimes others). So the reactor starts on uranium fuel and each time the fuel is replaced it transitions gradually to plutonium fuel.

It is also possible to tune a breeder reactor to operate as a plutonium burner (without breeding new fuel). Such a reactor would burn plutonium only. This has been suggested as an effective means of disposing of the current "excess" of plutonium removed from retired nuclear weapons.